Back Camping for Christmas in Capitol Reef and Canyonlands - December 2002 Christmas Eve we drove to Capitol Reef National Park and 4 by 4ed about 35 miles into Cathedral Valley where we set up camp and decorated a tree with Christmas lights and garland.  On Christmas we went to Canyonlands and drove the White Rim trail, camping at the secluded White Crack campground.  It got down to 16 degrees Fahrenheit every night but we had a lot of fun. Capitol Reef If you look very closely at the picture to the right you can see the lights of the Christmas tree above and to the left of the tent.     Canyonlands     The picture to the left shows the beginning of the trail.  I don't know where the road comes down that cliff but it does.  The picture to the right shows the Colorado River. The following three pictures show a small section of the trail where it runs right along a very steep, undercut cliff.  I know that the pictures showing the cliff are dark, but the drop is at least 1500 ft and the cliff is undercut.  Where the car is sitting is actually hanging over the ground far beneath. Below is another cliff that the trail runs next to with a arch in the background. This is just a very short walk from where we camped.  If you look carefully at the picture to the left you can see Julie and Ilana standing on the rock.  We cooked and ate dinner here.  Don't worry, Ilana is tied to Julie. This is the view from our campsite.  You can't really tell from pictures this small but you can see the Needles district of Canyonlands in the middle of the picture to the right. Back